RIAA's final tab for Capitol v. Foster: $68,685.23

Found on Ars Technica on Monday, 16 July 2007
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Debbie Foster's battle with the RIAA appears to be finally over. Today, a federal judge in Oklahoma closed the book on Capitol v. Foster by awarding her $68,685.23 in attorneys' fees, a ruling first reported by Ray Beckerman's blog.

Foster was sued by the RIAA in November 2004 for copyright infringement. She denied infringement and began a legal fight against the music industry. In July 2005, the labels added her adult daughter Amanda Foster to the suit.

Judge West decided that $68,685.23 was adequate to compensate Barringer-Thompson and her legal staff for the time spent litigating the case. He also rejected the RIAA's argument that Foster was not entitled to fees incurred after "some point when she allegedly 'could have avoided [fees] altogether but chose not to do so,'" reiterating that she was fully entitled to fight the RIAA's charges and as a result, eligible for an award of attorneys' fees.

What a hilarious argumentation. Of couse she could have avoided the lawsuit if she would have paid up as the industry planned it. This argument applies to pretty much every extortion and robbery: the victims always can avoid a lawsuit if they just hand over the cash.